


Drag Me To Hell and Back

by Anime_or_scifi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Drag Queen AU, Drag Queens, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eren's a little territorial, M/M, drag! Au, implied sexual relationship, oh gosh I can't think of more tags, this is really old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:32:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anime_or_scifi/pseuds/Anime_or_scifi
Summary: Eren and Levi are drag queens who don't really want to accommodate or make room for each other. Competitiveness ensues.





	Drag Me To Hell and Back

**Author's Note:**

> You'll have to forgive the title, puns are ingrained in all my creations.
> 
> I wrote this like a year ago, it's not that great, I almost deleted it, but I hate putting work into something only for it to go to waste. 
> 
> Anyways, I thought I'd upload this, considering its officially Halloween season. Enjoy!

Levi delicately pulled on his fishnet stockings, trying not to tear them. Of course, he had plenty of fishnets that were ripped and stretched, and they didn't look half bad. However, that wasn't the look he was going for. He wanted to be neat and tidy for his debut performance at this new location. 

He prided himself in his aesthetic that had morphed and evolved throughout the years. A striking combination of class and danger. Not that he'd call himself a classy person, and he wasn't all that dangerous. He just wanted to pay his rent, and if that meant being vulgar or kissing ass, then so be it.

Right as he hooked up his garters and patted down his skirt, his new boss walked in to check on his progress. "Hello, Levi— Chanel, pardon me. Almost ready?"

Levi nodded, leaning over his desk to do his final touch-ups on his makeup. "Yeah, nearly there. I still have time though, right Hanji?"

"Yes, I just wanted to wish you luck and, um... warn you," they mumbled.

"Warn me?" Levi lifted a brow in question. "If the crowd gets handsy, I'm used to it by now—"

"No, no," Hanji interrupted, adjusting their glasses. "It's not the crowd you should be worried about. You see... I've neglected to tell you about your spot tonight. You'll be sharing the stage, at separate times of course, with another one of our girls."

"I have no problem with that," Levi said, tweaking his eyeliner.

"I know you don't, but she does."

Levi paused his work to fully face Hanji. "Oh?"

Hanji tried to remain calm, to show Levi he had nothing to worry about. "She's the most requested and a crowd favorite, and she's very keen on maintaining that title. I told her she'd be sharing the stage and, well, she was less than thrilled."

"Is she gonna have a meltdown or some shit?" Levi chuckled.

"No, nothing that bad. I just don't want you to feel intimidated by her, I want you to be completely comfortable working here. So, if she crosses a line, let me know. I just thought I'd give you the heads up if she gives you any trouble."

Levi sighed and went back to work. "I can handle her. I've dealt with some pieces of work over the years."

"Okay, if you say so." Hanji turned to leave the changing room. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Mhm," Levi hummed as they left. He wasn't scared of another drag queen throwing a hissy fit. He was the infamous Chanel DeNoir. Well, famous in the downtown area. Usually only recognized at an underground bar, talked about amongst peculiar friend groups, recognized by few. He'll be here all week. He'd put up with screaming, drunk customers, climbing on stage. He'd seen the worst of people sneaking into his bar, trying to raise hell. He'd done some questionable things after being promised a hefty tip. No spoiled queen who'd never had it rough was going to drive him to giving up this job. 

Levi could hear the door open and shut again, but didn't bother looking up. Different performers went in and out constantly, it was probably no one notable. He just had to finish his eyebrows, set his makeup, then he'd be stage ready.

He heard rushed clicking of heels and jingling jewelry and almost admittedly felt a tad smug when the noise halted behind him. He vaguely glanced in his mirroring and sure enough, he found a furious drag queen fuming behind him with her nostrils flaring. So, this bright eyed brunet was the one he'd stolen the spotlight from? It was nice to finally meet the princess.

The stranger kept silent, simply glowering at the back of Levi's head with her arms crossed. 

"If you're gonna keep steaming to yourself, could you do it over there?" Levi drawled out. "You're fogging up my mirror."

Begrudgingly, she stomped over to the seat beside him and fiddled with her hair. Levi inspected her appearance. It was plain to see that she used her real hair, adding in extensions and pulling them back up into a high ponytail. He couldn't judge that, after all, he'd done the same thing. Her makeup was dark and heavy, juxtaposed by her dress, which was nothing but elegant. A glittering green gown clung to her figure with mismatching sleeves, one blue and one white, loose and reminiscent of wings. Levi looked down her tan legs to find open toed pumps, then gazed back up to find the jewelry he'd heard earlier. Just as he thought. She looked every bit as spoiled as he imagined. 

"Let me guess, you're the one I'm taking turns with?" Levi inquired.

"Unfortunately," the stranger huffed with a frown.

Levi smirked to himself, cleaning up his left eyebrow. "What's your name?"

"Jaeger Bombshell."

Levi snorted. "What kind of fuckin' name is that?"

That comment earned him a venomous glare. "Well, what's yours?"

"Chanel DeNoir," Levi said simply. 

The other scoffed. "Oh, like that's any better. French? It's been done before. Speaking of which, we already have a French girl. There's no need for two."

"Well... us French girls have more fun. And bigger tips." Levi set down his brow product and picked up concealer to clean up the edges. "What's your other name?"

"... Eren," the other queen muttered bitterly. "Yours?"

"Levi." 

Eren side-eyed Levi when he wasn't looking and tried to take apart his attire. Spiked platform heels? He was trying too hard. Fishnets? Boring. Ruffled, pvc skirt? He pitied Levi for dishing out money for it. Under-the-bust corset? Wow, he was really sticking to the French theme. Black, sleeveless blouse with attached, frilly cravat? God, he could've been his grandmother. His nails weren't atrocious, much to his dismay. His makeup wasn't tragic, but it was too extreme for his liking. His Cupid's bow was outrageously pointed, his contour was a harsh line and his eyeshadow met up with his eyebrows at a point. "You look like the goblin king had a fifty percent off coupon at the S and M store."

"Thank you." Levi sat back to check that his makeup was even. "You should see my second outfit for the night. It's got chains."

Rolling his eyes, Eren muttered under his breath, "I won't be impressed until you bust out those crystals and give me thirteen hours to solve the labyrinth."

Levi frowned at him for a second before regaining his composure. "Sorry to disappoint, my crystal balls are all tucked up and they're not going anywhere tonight," he shot back, spraying his makeup in place. He stood, giving Eren one last look before going out to the stage. "See you in a bit, Jaeger Bomb."

"It's Bombshell!" Eren corrected.

"Same thing."

 

~

 

Eren had to watch his new 'competition,' or coworker, as Hanji called him. He needed to know if he was in danger of losing his spot as the Saturday night regular. This bar was better than most. One needed to be on a list in order to enter, so no assholes came in at random. The place was well kept and customers were well tended to. And the performers were renowned for their talent, so no amateurs came waltzing in. Since the bar was so prestigious, it only made sense to want to be the only one working the stage on the busiest night of the week. But Eren was now having to share it? What made Levi so special? 

He sat in crowd, finding two of his close friends in their drag attire, not wanting to be seen at their place of work out of uniform. "Hey guys," he huffed out, greeting Armin and Mikasa. Armin was nearly as requested as Eren, being unique in his aesthetic and song choices. He picked older, lighthearted music and wore long, yellow wigs and typically blue, doll-like dresses, going by the name Oceania. Mikasa was lucky to have been selected as a performer. Their bar was one of the few that let women join in the wig styling, face painting, and lip syncing profession among the men, and Mikasa was happy to be a part of it all. She worked under the name Exxa Chastity, wore futuristic, black and red outfits and had a penchant for performing to electronic music. These two were Eren's closest friends at work, and he felt comfortable enough with them to voice his frustrations. 

"Better get some more energy in you," Mikasa advised. "You're performing tonight."

Eren pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know, I just need a drink."

"You're not supposed to drink until your second half," Armin pointed out. "What's on your mind?" 

"It's just this new girl. They're making me give up half my time so she can take it from me."

"Well, she's new," Armin said. "And really talented from what I've heard. She needs to get exposure since our crowd isn't familiar with him. This is our busiest night, so you can't put the blame on her for taking your stage time."

"I'm still pissed," Eren muttered.

"Well, let's see what she's got," Mikasa said, trying to calm him. "You might have no reason to worry. If she's not as good as you, they'll move her night."

"You're right. I'll prove she can't keep the crowd invested like I can. I'm gonna show my versatility tonight. She probably has nothing."

"Is that why you're in that gown?" Armin snickered. "It's too sophisticated, it doesn't suit you."

Eren shrugged. "Well, I'm more than a grunge queen. I'm not some one-trick pony, and I can give some variety."

"I'm excited see this new 'well-rounded' Jaeger Bombshell," Mikasa teased.

Eren rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to smile at her jab. But it quickly disappeared as the hosts strutted onstage to get everyone's attention. His coworkers, Marco and Jean, came on stage in drag, ready to warm up the crowd. Their customers always enjoyed their conflicting personalities.

Jean, dressed in a haphazardly teased wig and loud clothes, was the first to speak into the mic. "Sorry we're late. This bitch had one breast in by the time we should've been out here."

Marco giggled, always taking Jean's jeers well. "My bad! But you can't rush beauty, looking this good takes time." He gestured to his asymmetrical dress and pink wig. 

"You should've seen her," Jean went on. "I told her we had ten minutes, poor girl only had half an eyebrow on, lashes were stuck on the goddamn mirror, it was a tragedy."

"It was not that bad!" Marco whined. "Anyways, we've wasted enough time. We're you're hosts for this evening, I'm Demi Visage."

"And I'm Janet Cheval," Jean added.

"And we've got a new lady joining us for the first time tonight! Some of you may know her, she used to work downtown—"

"Demi, no one here has been downtown willingly," Jean interrupted.

"I've been downtown!" Marco argued.

"Oh, you've never been downtown, you've just gone downtown," Jean said, pointing down suggestively, earning laughs from the crowd.

The audience would've seen Marco blush if it wasn't for his caked on makeup. "Anyway, so our new girl—"

"Wait, sorry, is she the one backstage in black?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Oh my god, you guys, I've seen her," Jean laughed, turning to the crowd. "This woman is a blast from the past. Her makeup is like all the old rockstar's from the eighties, and it's a damn shame she's as bad at it as they were."

More laughter from the audience came, and Eren was especially happy that Jean was tearing Levi down before he even got onstage. After going back and forth for a few more moments, Jean and Marco left the stage. 

Eren took a deep breath as the lights dimmed and ignored his bitterness so he could accurately judge Levi's performance. It would do him no good to watch, predetermined that he was the best. He needed to know if he had to step up.

The music played as Levi walked on stage languidly to the beat, taking his sweet time as several lights revealed him stepping through the darkness. 

"Her outfit isn't so impressive," Armin noted, giving Eren some hope.

Eren eyes followed every movement in the hopes he could find some obvious flaw. Unfortunately, Levi walk was fluid in every way, he moved with confidence and once the lyrics came in, Levi's lip-syncing could've fooled anyone. Of course, he'd chosen the song Peek-a-Boo. Eren should've known.

"He used his natural hair?" Mikasa mused to herself. "I mean that can look good, but he took a risk having an undercut."

Eren tried to find comfort in her words, but he really couldn't complain about his hair. 

"Playing dead and sweet submission,  
Cracks the whip deadpan on cue ~"

Levi embodied the song perfectly, keeping a stoic expression but moving more fast paced, entrancing the audience.

"Flaccid ego in your hand  
Chokes on dry tears, can you understand? ~"

Levi locked eyes with Eren and almost started smirking smugly. Eren wanted to smack that pride off his face.

"She's jeering at the shadows  
Sneering behind a smile ~"

It was then that Eren realized that Levi either picked out this song specifically to send a message or he already had it chosen and played it off to mess with him. Levi showed he wasn't scared or thrown off by Eren, in fact, he enjoyed pushing his buttons.

"Lunge and thrust to pout and pucker  
Into the face of the beguiled ~"

Levi turned back to the crowd that adored him already, getting into his performance. Eren glanced at Armin and Mikasa, seeing how they watched critically, but didn't seem to dislike the show. He only wished he could watch without apprehension like they did. 

The song neared its end, and Levi sent his final looks to Eren as the last lyrics played.

"Peek-A-Boo -- Peek-A-Boo  
Golly jeepers  
Where'd you get those weepers?  
Peepshow, creepshow  
Where did you get those eyes? ~"

Sending the crowd a wink as the lights went down, Levi left as the crowd roared. It was a sound Eren typically loved to hear, but given the situation, it tore him in two. Levi was competition. He could lose his spot.

"I have to go," Eren announced to his friends. 

 

~

 

By the end of the night, Eren was in his signature, grunge inspired drag attire and was positively fuming. Levi had a similar aesthetic as he later found out, taking on a darker appearance, but kept a unique image. And the crowd loved it. The audience positively adored Levi and he was having none of it. They looked to be about a decade apart on terms of their clothing choices and that was a big enough range for Eren. He needed to stand out more. He couldn't let himself blend in.

And as if Levi's following outfits of the night weren't enough, his song selection had Eren pacing in his dressing room, practically throwing a fit. 'Stroker Ace.' Eren had used that song a mere five months ago! No consideration went into Levi's planning. And 'Ainsi Bas La Vida.' It felt like he was putting in too much effort to pull of the French theme to the point that it was tacky, but the crowd drooled over it. Eren had made a mistake by choosing to perform to a slower, jazz song to mix things up in the beginning. He'd lost his audience's interest. Even when he returned to his more upbeat, harsher music, Levi held the crowds attention. He didn't even try, the audience seemed to love him no matter how good or bad he was. Eren had to fight tooth and nail to get to where he was. This was Levi's first night. It wasn't fair.

Eren tore off his wig that he'd acquired for his last song of the evening, setting it on its bust and angrily brushing through it.

Levi came waltzing into the dressing room, having just performed his last song and dropped himself into the chair in front of his mirror. He first tasked himself with removing his jewelry, tossing glances at Eren every so often. "You're gonna shred up that wig if you keep treating it like that," he pointed out.

"Don't fucking talk to me," Eren barked. He wouldn't even return Levi's gaze.

Levi frowned after Eren's retort. It may have been snarky of him, but he was just trying to help. "Fine. Be a spoiled brat. But you'll be going through plenty of wigs and a lot of pocket money if you keep—"

"Just shut up!" Eren thundered, finally facing Levi. "Don't get used to any of this. The audience may have responded well tonight, but it won't always be so easy for you. Besides, half of them had too many drinks to know exactly what they were applauding."

"Listen, you're the one who shouldn't be getting used to this. I'm here to stay, so you need to get over yourself and stop acting like a whiny little princess if you don't want me to fucking—"

"Hey, hey, hey!" A voice interrupted. "What's going on in here?" They both had been too occupied to notice Hanji's entrance. "No fighting, I sure hope." They plastered a false grin onto their features, hoping it would ease any tension.

Levi glared at Eren, waiting to see if he'd start whining and complaining. Begrudgingly, Eren crossed his arms and looked the other way. "... No. Everything's fine."

Hanji knew better than to avoid the subject, so instead they addressed it before things had a chance to get worse. "I know this schedule isn't ideal for either of you, but this is the only way that made sense." They knew full well that Levi didn't mind the scheduling, but they wouldn't dare single out Eren. "If I figure out something else that'll work in favor of both of you, then we'll change things up. But for now, this is how things will be done and I'd love nothing more than for you two to get along. Can you do that for me?"

"I've had no problems with sharing the stage, Eren's the one who doesn't like it. When he cooperates, I will," Levi said.

"Eren...?" Hanji tried drawing a response from him.

Eren kept frowning in the other direction, but muttered a reply. "Yeah, whatever."

"Terrific!" Hanji clapped their hands together. "I know you both would love each other if you just give each other a chance! I need to get going now, but you guys did great tonight. And thanks for attempting to get along." With that, they turned on their heel and exited the room.

In their absence, Eren and Levi gazed at one another, replaying Hanji's word in their head. Love each other? Absolute nonsense. Give each other a chance? Not likely.

 

~

 

Months later, it was time to make the shift. Hanji made the sign of the cross over themself despite not being religious, before entering the back room where Eren was beating his face and they sighed, seeing as they'd gotten to him too late in the process. "Eren?"

Eren turned around in his chair. "Oh, hey Hanji. What's up?"

Hanji put on the most apologetic face they could. They hated to have to break the news. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry. You can finish if you want, but you won't be on stage tonight."

Eren set down his powder puff, hoping that Hanji was just joking with him. "... What?"

"I'm sorry to be telling you so late, I know it's not fair, but I tried getting to you sooner, I just got so busy. Your main shows are being moved to Friday nights. I'll still pay you for tonight because you found out so late, but the schedule change starts tonight."

Eren stared back at them with his mouth dropped. "I... are you serious?"

Hanji nodded. "I'm so sorry. I got to go now, I've got business to take care of. Free drinks for you are on me tonight." And with that, they left.

Eren looked back at his makeup counter. It took him years to get where he was and earn the reputation he had. And he knew exactly who had taken his place, he didn't need to be told. Only a few months of working there too, it had to be some kind of joke. 

Speak of the devil. The man who'd taken his spot came in the room and got to work, wordlessly putting on his makeup for his first night with the best crowd.

"I hope you enjoy your new fucking spot," Eren muttered, spritzing on his setting spray and fanning it dry with his hand.

"Don't get pissy with me," Levi defended himself. "I wasn't the one who made the decision."

"Yeah, but you're the one who stole my spot."

"That's not my fault, if you were better at your job, your spot wouldn't have been taken from you in the first place."

"Fuck you!" Eren yelled, slamming his hand in the desk and standing to retrieve his hairspray from the other side of the room. "I'm fucking great at my job! They love me here!"

Levi smeared on his foundation, rolling his eyes at Eren's tantrum. "I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you whine and cry because you're too spoiled and you don't know how to handle shit when things are hard. You probably had this job handed to you, and now that someone who has more experience than you comes in, you're gonna throw a hissy fit—"

"You think I didn't have it hard?" Eren grabbed his comb, dropping himself back in his chair. "Well fuck you, cause I did! Do have any idea how many years it took me to work my way up to get Saturday to myself? Or how many years it took me to have this as my full time job? And you get everything you want within months, so you're the one who had this handed to you." He finished teasing out his hair, in too much of a hurry to leave to bother with a wig, and hair sprayed the fly away ends. 

Levi thought about it some more and realized he was technically the rookie in this club. Even though he'd been in the profession for ages, he was new to the location and already had the best night within such a short period of time. Eren shouldn't have been acting out so much, seeing as Levi earned the spot, but he knew it must've hurt seeing a stranger move up so fast ahead of him. He looked over to send some kind of condolences, but paused when looking in Eren's mirror. "Are you... are you crying?"

"No!" Eren put in his earrings and stormed out of the room. "I hope both of your heels snap and you break your fucking ankle!"

 

~

 

Eren stayed seated at the bar during Levi's performance and he didn't know whether or not it was more upsetting if he could see why Levi got the spot so easily. He captivated the crowd, the tips came in one after another with no pause, he put out so much energy and the cheering was practically deafening. 

Eren sighed, slumping against the counter. Just then, an old friend came to sit beside him. "Hey, Miss Bombshell."

"Hey, Titania," Eren mumbled. Titania Crystals, more commonly known amongst her friends as Annie, didn't always interact with the other queens, she typically kept to herself. But she got along with them, and was there when they needed to talk. 

"What's got you down?"

"Can't you guess?"

Annie looked over at the stage where Levi was tearing it up. "Yeah, I figured you'd be pissed." She watched him for a bit before turning back. "Fucking hate that fish."

Eren took a sip of his drink, quirking his brow up at her. "You don't like her either?"

Annie shook her head, grimacing. "No, she thinks that just because she's been doing drag longer than us that means she's the shit."

"I hate to admit it, but she's really good," Eren sighed. "I'm not saying I'm okay with her taking my place, but I can't see why Hanji made the choice."

Annie nodded along. "You know, I've heard a few people are upset over the switch."

Eren perked up. "Really? Who?"

"Well, mostly the other queens. But I heard these two guys in the crowd complaining. And don't tell Hanji his I.D. is fake, because I promised I'd cover for him, but there's this teen who comes in just to see you every Saturday. He was pretty upset."

"Is he still here?" Eren looked in the crowd. He noticed regulars from time to time, but he didn't recall ever seeing a teen. "I could tell him I'll be performing on Fridays."

"Yeah, I'll point him out to you."

Annie led Eren through all the people and over to a kid in a flannel shirt, ripped jeans and a cheap wig, frowning in his seat with his arms crossed. Eren parted from Annie and walked up behind the stranger, tapping their shoulder. "How did they let you in even with a fake I.D.? You look too young to believe." Eren teased.

The teen looked around and beamed up at him. "It's you!"

Eren couldn't help but smile. 

Then panic crossed the kid's features. "Are you gonna rat me out?"

"Not unless you start drinking. Watching drag queens every weekend isn't a crime, you're safe." Eren patted their shoulder. 

The boy relaxed, but still seemed agitated. "Why aren't you up there? You perform every Saturday."

Eren sighed. "Yeah, not anymore. If you wanna see my main shows, you'll have to start coming on Fridays."

"What?! No, that's not fair! I can't be out on Friday nights! I won't be able to see you!"

"Well, you'll be able to see Chanel. She's just as good—"

"No, I wanna see you. I don't care about Chanel. You're my favorite, you're the only queen I know who does grunge drag. You're who I base my drag on, you're like my hero."

Eren never had someone look up to him like this and it was a strange feeling. "You do drag?"

"Yeah, I'm no good at it though, I'm just starting out. I don't have the money or supplies to do a decent job." The teen looked down at their lap. "And now I can't see you perform anymore, that's just great."

Levi finished up his song and thunderous applause followed. The teenager frowned up at him, cupped his hands around his mouth and started to boo him. It wasn't nearly loud enough to be clearly heard over the cheers, but it caught Levi's attention.

"Hey, don't do that!" Eren hissed. He didn't know why he tried to stop him, even he would've booed Levi out of bitterness. But deep down, he knew Levi didn't deserve that.

"But she took your spot! Aren't you mad?" He went back to heckling Levi.

Eren thought about it, and he still was mad. The applause died down but the teenager didn't relent. And then he realized that if he was this kid's role model, he had to keep him from getting caught up in a petty fight that wasn't even his fight. "I said stop," Eren said firmly. He was angry, but he shouldn't have wanted to take it out on Levi. 

The teen looked up at Eren, confused.

"It's not her fault I'm not performing tonight. You got a problem with it, you take it up with the owner. I'm not happy about it either, but being disrespectful to Chanel isn't going to solve anything." He looked back up at Levi, who was still watching the two hesitantly, but he turned away once another song started up.

Eren sat beside the kid, who now was obviously embarrassed for acting out. "It's not a big deal. Come here other nights, I'll still be here."

"I can't, I'm not allowed out during the week and Sunday's a school night. You don't come on until late, I'd get in so much trouble if I was caught out at that time."

"Alright, well... how about this? You say you're new to drag? You keep comin' on Saturdays and I'll show you the ropes. You don't need a ton of money to be good at drag, I'll help you figure things out. How about that?"

The teen lit up with so much excitement. "Really? You'd do that?"

"If you're up for it."

The teenager hugged Eren out of the blue, making him laugh. "So, you'll be like my drag mom?"

"Yes, just promise me not to be rude to the other girls... unless I give you permission. And you can't drink from the bar until you're of age of course."

"I promise! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Eren chuckled. "Alright, get off me kid." 

He had to admit, Saturdays may have been the busiest nights of the week, but Fridays were pretty good. And since he was a long time favorite, maybe he could talk things out with Hanji and get a song or two in on Saturdays.

Eren was still a tad bitter, but he was done throwing his fit. He pulled a five dollar bill out of his boot (a convenient wallet if he ever had one), and waved it in the air, beckoning Levi over. Levi came over, taking the bill from Eren as well as several others being shoved his way.

Eren wasn't even doing this to be a good example for the teen. He was just tried of his own drama.

 

~

 

"Thanks for hushing up that brat on the third row," Levi said, tugging off his wig.

"No problem," Eren huffed, peeling off his fake eyelashes. "And don't call them a brat, that's my drag daughter."

"I didn't know you had one."

"I didn't until tonight."

"So, one good thing came out of this for you."

Eren felt too exhausted to reply with a snarky comment. "Yep."

Levi raised a skeptical brow at him. "Just 'yep?' No 'fuck you.' No 'don't talk to me or I'll beat your face and not in a good way?'"

"I'm not gonna get my night back by being a bitch. I'm not gonna get it back at all, so there's no point. Besides... you deserve it."

"Hmph." Levi was almost disappointed that there was no arguing left in him. There got to be a point when it was too much, but he liked pushing his buttons. "So, you're over losing your spot?"

"I'm not over it, but there's not much I can really do about it, you know?" Eren started wiping off his makeup. There was something satisfying about getting out of all the caked on foundation and heavy eyeshadow. "So, congratulations. Enjoy your spot. But don't get comfortable, maybe in a few years, we'll get another new girl who'll take it from you."

Levi stared at his reflection for a few silent moments before joining Eren in removing his makeup. "How long did it take you to to get Saturdays to yourself?"

"Two years."

Levi nodded. "And how many years have you kept that time slot?"

"Four."

Levi paused in cleaning off his face. Eren was probably comfortable under the impression that he had job security and Levi took that away from him. "Well... I'm sorry you lost your spot."

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your decision."

"Are you going to complain to Hanji?"

"No, they were keeping the success of their business in mind... they made the right choice." Eren disposed of his makeup wipes and started to moisturize his face.

Levi knew he hadn't done anything wrong but he felt somewhat guilty over Eren's misfortune. For that reason, he didn't want to be in the same room as him, thinking there were still hard feelings between them. He packed up his things, ready to finish getting out of drag at home and stood to leave. He didn't know why he started to feel so bad over the whole ordeal, and he couldn't explain why he suddenly didn't want Eren to hate him, but he stopped just before leaving. "Eren? I'm gonna talk with Hanji. I'll see if there's a way that we could switch or if we could share Saturdays."

Eren looked over his shoulder, absolutely perplexed. "Why would you do that?"

Levi shrugged. "Because it's fair." He may have had other reasons, like getting on Eren's good side, but he didn't want to give him more of an answer than he had to. "I have to go." He shut the door, leaving Eren to himself.

Eren stared back, wondering why he would do such a thing. He thought he'd been so rude to him so consistently that Levi would dangle the spot in his face and flaunt it forever, not try to give it back. He had more than enough reason to keep it all for himself. 

He figured that maybe this was him trying to make amends. They'd be working together for who knows how long, so he decided that he's accept whatever aid he was offered and try not to butt heads with him if he could help it.

 

~

 

~ Five Months Later ~

Hanji knocked on the door of the dressing room and walked in to find Eren and Levi both getting ready side by side. Or rather, one in front of the other. Levi needed help lacing his corset. "Update ladies, you're going to be going on a half hour late. We're having some issues with the lighting."

"Good, I could actually use the extra time," Levi wheezed.

"Oof, good luck with that corset. Based on you're makeup and the dress hanging in the corner, I'm guessing you're channeling Vampira tonight?"

"Yeah," Levi mumbled, focusing on breathing.

"Hold still," Eren said, pressing his foot to Levi's back and pulling the laces.

"No wig," Hanji listed off. "Fake claws, giant brows and a fuzzy ears... I'm gonna say werewolf lady?"

"You got it," Eren said. "Levi, is this too tight?"

"I've been in worse," he gasped. 

"Well, good luck getting ready. And Levi, do your thing, but please don't faint. Oceania is on before you both, she's doing a 'Creature From the Black Lagoon' routine, she said it's coming along great! Also... glad to see you both getting along."

"Yeah, things are good between us now," Eren chuckled. 

"Good, that's what I like to hear. See you on stage!"

Once Hanji left, Eren finished tying up Levi's corset. He huffed out a heavy breath, putting his hands on his hips, tired after all that exercise. "Should we tell them?"

"No." Levi stood, adjusting his back. "We'll wait until they figure it out. It's more fun that way." He winked.

"I don't know, it could take awhile. Armin'll probably figure it out in a day or two." Eren went back to fixing his hair, back combing it and sweeping it all in one direction. 

"Want me to pull your tail through?" Levi offered.

"Ugh, could you? It's hard to do from the back."

Levi reached for the faux fur costume piece throw the hole at the top of Eren's black, jean skirt. "All set... you haven't been wearing wigs in awhile, any reason for that?"

"I guess I like my natural hair all messy, goes good with the punk rock aesthetic." Eren shrugged.

"I like it, looks hot. I'd ruffle it up to feel it, but I know it's already in place."

Eren smirked at him through the reflection in the mirror. "And I'd kiss you right now, but we both got our makeup on."

"Oh hoh, promise me you'll save a few for after the show."

"Of course, love." 

Levi smiled, staring up and down at Eren's costume. "Now, do you do this classic monster theme every year?"

"No, we choose a different theme every year. Last year, it was famous female singers. I was a brunette Wendy O. The year before, it was all Rocky Horror Picture show, I was Magenta and god, you should've seen Mikasa's Frank N' Furter."

"Hm, I'm already excited for next year," Levi mused. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself, we gotta get through tonight first. Tonight's gonna be a lot of fun, Jean's gonna be a zombie on its period and he's got this fake blood gag ready over his tuck, one on his side and another in his mouth. It's gonna be great."

"Oh my god, I wanna see that," Levi laughed. "Will he be on before us?"

"He's doing the announcements with Marco. He's doing a bride a Frankenstein look." 

Levi took a seat at his own makeup station, debating his next costume choice. "Should I add the fangs or is that a bad idea?"

"It depends. You don't have to worry about your voice because you won't actually be singing, but if they hinder your skills while lip syncing, then don't bother. A good replacement is taking some spike studs and using prosthetic glue to put them at the bottom of your lip. It's a new take on your classic fangs."

Levi nodded, weighing out his options. "I think I'll do that."

"As long as you can take them off quick when we're done," Eren purred. "I've got some plans for you after."

"Contain yourself over there, don't want to look like a mess when we perform, or all this work will be for nothing."

"If I can't control myself, it's your fault, not mine. And hey, it's Halloween. If we can't keep it together, just say it was a... werewolf attack." Eren sent a wink over at him.

"Paws off, Jaeger."

 

~

 

"I am not excited to wash out my balls tonight," Jean announced walking in the back after a long night.

"Thanks for announcing that," Armin muttered. 

"You know, you took fish drag to a whole new level tonight with your creature from the black lagoon look. Made it literal," Jean commented, taking off his wig. 

"They don't call me Oceania for nothing."

Jean nodded. "Good point. Let's go the other way, I wanna ask Jaeger and Chanel if they got my blood gag on video. That's as theatrical as I'll ever get."

"Alright, well there's their room." Armin pointed it out, not bothering to go in with Jean.

Jean knocked briefly and opened the door. "Hey, you two- woah!"

Armin heard several distressed noises and watched with wide eyes as Jean backed out in a haste.

"Okay, have fun!" Jean slammed the door and pulled Armin's arm along, turning back. "That was a mistake."

"What was going on?" Armin asked innocently.

"Let's just say, next time you see Levi, ask him how his head is."

"Why? Did he hit it on something?"

Jean stopped and sent him an unimpressed look. "Armin."

"... Oh... oh!"

**Author's Note:**

> Levi's first song was almost going to be my song for my first drag performance but that changed. Lmao.
> 
> If you liked this, please leave a comment or kudos! I'm sorry for any errors, I didn't edit this. My tumblrs are dr-s--art, the-witch-daddy and extraeren. Thanks for reading!


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